Atheism Archive

I’ll just put this out there: I’m fascinated by the recent changes in the numbers for the religious and unaffiliated, especially non-theism. As one who teaches in religious studies, and most-often on the history of religion, it feels like I’m living at a key point of change for religion and non-theism. What factors are

My newest article, “Do the Beliefs of Others Infuriate You?” is up at The Huffington Post. This piece is an attempt to explain some guiding principles that I try to use for myself when engaging those who have beliefs that I disagree with, especially when they are frustratingly bad beliefs. The points I make

Last December, I reviewed Chris Stedman’s book, Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious. Chris is the Assistant Chaplain and Values in Action Coordinator for the Humanist Community at Harvard University, Emeritus Managing Director of State of Formation at the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, and the founder of the first blog

My newest piece, “That’s not academics, Texas; it’s religious indoctrination,” is up at Toledo Faith and Values (the local hub of The Religion News Service). A recent report on Texas religion courses in public schools showed a significant bias in teaching for several districts. In some of these instances, the bias was deemed intentional.

Tell someone you are studying religion and they often assume that you are a theologian or looking to “become a priest” (an assumption more common than you might think). It is true that theologians are studying religion, but this is not the same as the academic field known as religious studies. Theologians are adherents

Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious by Chris Stedman Beacon Press, 2012 208 pages (Kindle) Available Amazon Powell “I had never heard the word ‘faitheist’ before,” says Chris Stedman, “but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a compliment.” So begins Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious,

Surveys are done all the time, especially during election years, but there are a few election year surveys on religion that are showing some interesting changes in the American landscape. Today I’m looking at three studies that highlight some aspect of the transforming world of American religion, including the rising category of the the

Mortality by Christopher Hitchens Twelve, 2012 128 Pages (Kindle) Available Amazon Powell’s Many people I know consume deathbed conversion narratives like they’re crack, but Mortality—the posthumous collection of essays by Christopher Hitchens written during his fight with cancer—is proof that there are atheists in foxholes.